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Hockey heads north to face No. 4 Western Michigan

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Hockey heads north to face No. 4 Western MichiganHockey heads north to face No. 4 Western Michigan
by Casey Moser

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – A weekend after competing against St. Cloud State at Mullett Arena, the Sun Devil Hockey program hits the road to take on No. 4 Western Michigan for a two-game weekend tilt. 

Schedule  
Friday, Feb. 13, 2026
Arizona State at No. 4 Western Michigan - 5 p.m. MST

Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026
Arizona State at No. 4 Western Michigan - 4 p.m. MST

Where to watch 
Fans can tune into the action on NCHC.tv on Friday and Saturday, as the radio broadcast will be available on Fox Sports 910AM with Tyler Paley and Alex Coil on the call. 

Last time out
ASU (13-16-1, 6-11-1 NCHC) dropped both games of a weekend home tilt against St. Cloud State. Freshman goaltender Samuel Urban stopped 58 saves over the two games, while freshman forward Ben Kevan tallied the first multi-assist game of his career in Saturday’s 4-3 defeat.

Freshman forward Sam Alfano had his six-game point streak come to an end last Saturday. His six-game point streak was tied for the second longest by an ASU freshman, joining Josh Doan to achieve such a feat. Johnny Walker holds the longest point streak by a freshman skater at nine games.

Opponent outlook
No. 4 Western Michigan (20-8, 12-6 NCHC) has seven wins over top-10 ranked opponents and is the defending national champions. The Broncos have a home record of 6-5, but have had success on the road with only three losses away from Lawson Arena, good for a 12-3 road record.

Junior forward Grant Slukynsky leads the Broncos with 30 points. He has scored six goals to complement 24 assists in the 2025-26 season. WMU has two leading goal scorers, senior Liam Valente and junior William Whitelaw, who have both found the back of the net 16 times this season. Whitelaw is a Columbus Blue Jackets draftee, being picked in the third round of the 2023 NHL draft. 

Sophomore goaltender Hampton Slukynsky holds a .910 save percentage with a 20-8 record. He has recorded shutouts in three games this season (UMass Lowell, Notre Dame). Slukynsky was a fourth-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2023 NHL draft.


History vs. Western Michigan (1-2-1)
ASU played host to WMU in a weekend series (Feb. 21-22) at Mullett Arena during the 2024-25 season. The Sun Devils took game one, 5-3, in regulation, before the Broncos evened the series with a 4-3 overtime win in game two. 

Prior to that series, the two teams had not faced eachother since 2017. In the Feb. 14-15 series at Lawson Arena WMU took the first game of the two-game series, 4-2, on Feb. 13, while game two was ruled a 2-2 tie due to NCAA rules the following day. However, the Sun Devils scored the game-winning goal in double overtime with 25 seconds remaining.

Quick hits

  • A victory for ASU would be its first win over a top-five opponent since Nov. 23, 2024, when ASU defeated then-No. 1 Denver, 5-2 at Magness Arena.
  • A win would snap a three-game losing skid and be the second top-10 road win this season for the Sun Devils.
  • Senior forward Bennett Schimek is one point away from surpassing Josh Doan (2021-23) for eighth all time (75) and he’s three points away from sitting fifth all time on the career points list (78).
  • Schimek is tied for the NCHC lead with 27 assists. He’s tied for second in the conference with 38 points and is averaging 1.31 points per game.
  • In conference action, Schimek is tied atop the NCHC leaderboard with 24 points, while leading all skaters with 1.41 points per game.
  • Senior forward Cruz Lucius is tied with Schimek for a team lead of 38 points, which is also tied for fourth in the nation.
  • Schimek and Lucius’ 38 points each are the most by a Sun Devil through the team’s first 30 games.
  • Schimek has tallied a team-leading 27 assists this season, which is the seventh most in a season by a Sun Devil. 
  • ASU is 10-2-1 when Lucius has two or more points this season.
  • The Sun Devils are the only team in the country to have a pair of teammates with 110+ career points: Lucius - 116, Schimek - 112.
  • ASU is one of two NCHC teams (Minnesota Duluth) to have multiple players with 35 or more points: Lucius - 35, Schimek - 33.
  • Throughout the month of January, Sam Alfano was tied with Colorado College’s Mats Lindgren for the most points (eight) among all freshmen in the NCHC. Additionally, his five assists were the most in the conference.  
  • Urban currently leads the NCHC with 29.57 saves per game, while ranking fourth in save percentage (.914). Fellow goaltender Connor Hasley comes in at sixth (.911).
  • In NCHC play, Urban ranks first with 30 saves per game and is fourth with a .914 save percentage.
  • On the dot, sophomore forward Logan Morrell ranks fifth in faceoff winning percentage (.582) and is fifth in the conference with 303 faceoff wins. 
  • In the series against St. Cloud State, Morrell won 31 of 43 faceoffs (.721).
  • Sophomore defenseman Joel Kjellberg ranks second in the NCHC with 58 blocks and third in conference play with 33 blocks in NCHC play. 
    Kjellberg’s 58 blocks are currently tied for the eighth most in a season by a Sun Devil.
  • Sophomore defenseman Brasen Boser ranks second in the NCHC with 57 blocks, but is first with 46 blocked shots in conference games.

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